Quesadilla Gorilla partners with Slow Train Coffee to open new coffee house

Miguel and Mikayla Reyes, owners of the popular Quesadilla Gorilla restaurant and food truck, are jumping into a new venture.

The Reyeses have partnered with Jonathan Anderson and Greg Amend of Slow Train Coffee Roaster to form Component Coffee Lab, a soon-to-be coffee house in Visalia. The new business is finalizing a lease for space on Main Street, right across the street from Barrel House Brewing Co.

Anderson expects Component Coffee Lab to open within three to five months, if everything falls into place. Until then, Component has a mobile coffee cart it’s rolling out to the Visalia farmers markets on Thursday and Saturday. It’s a way for the public to get a taste of what Component Coffee Lab is all about.

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Anderson says he and Amend, a veteran coffee roaster, are masters at creating espresso, thanks to a new Slayer espresso machine.

“We can pinpoint a particular flavor profile, it is that good,” Anderson says. “It is such good espresso.”

The new cafe will also feature cold brew coffee, regular coffee and mochas.

Miguel and Mikayla Reyes will create the menu leaning heavy on breakfast- and brunch-type items. Mikayla Reyes says the menu is still in the planning stages, and she’s keeping an open mind on what they might serve. Will we see gut-filling breakfast burritos or mouth-watering pastries? Time will tell.

This is the fourth business the young couple has opened since 2013. They started out with a small restaurant on Main Street in Visalia, then they added a food truck in 2016 and this year they opened two restaurants in Fresno, one near Fresno High School and the other in downtown Fresno.

When Component opens in a few months, it will join a growing number of new coffee-related businesses and partnerships that have recently formed mostly in the Fresno/Clovis area.

Although some may be asking if the local coffee market is already saturated, Anderson says he doesn’t think so. He says the Visalia area can easily sustain another coffee house. There are several coffee houses and cafes in the area, including Tazz.Coffee that recently opened at 501 W. Main St. in Visalia.

“I am all for good coffee,” he says.

Anderson says he is optimistic that the public will embrace their spin on a coffee house. Along with serving coffee drinks, they will also feature live music and even a record player where you will hear everything from classic Led Zeppelin to new bands.

“We want this to be a welcoming place, a comfortable place, and a place with pretty killer music,” Anderson says.